School's starting back up and the weather's cooling down which led Marci to e-mail that "potlucks are back on." For her, the go to is a casserole and she loves The Kitchn's Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole recipe:
Ingredients
- 12 ounces broccoli crowns
- 1 medium shallot
- 1 large clove garlic
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 packed cups)
- 3 cups cold cooked rice, preferably a long grain and wild rice blend
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, plus more for the pan
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumb
Instructions
Heat the oven. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 375ºF. Coat an 8x8-inch or 1-quart baking dish with butter.
Prep the ingredients. Cut 12 ounces broccoli crowns into 1-inch pieces (3 1/2 to 4 cups) and place in a large bowl. Finely chop 1 medium shallot and 1 large garlic clove. Grate 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese on the large holes of a box grater. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cheese for topping. Reserve the remaining cheese for the sauce.
Combine the broccoli and rice. Add 3 cups cooked rice and 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt to the bowl of broccoli and stir to combine.
Cook the aromatics. Melt 2 tablespoons of the unsalted butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic, and a pinch of kosher salt, and cook until tender and translucent, about 3 minutes.
Start the cheese sauce. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons unsalted butter. Once melted, add 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, stir to combine, and cook about 30 seconds.
Add the milk. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups whole milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the cheese. Add the cheese reserved for the sauce and whisk until melted. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and stir to combine.
Combine the cheese sauce with the broccoli and rice. Pour the cheese sauce into the bowl of broccoli and rice and stir until evenly combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Top with cheese and bread crumbs. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese and 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs.
Bake the casserole. Bake until the bread crumbs are browned in spots and the edges begin to look crisped, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
News? Adam Lynch reports:
Navarro extolled the singer, 81, best known for her gay anthem “I Will Survive,” while calling out the president as “a stain on the prestige and significance” of the Kennedy Center Honors.
“Look, the woman is a goddess and deserves all the flowers that come her way,” Navarro said of Gaynor. “But I wish she wouldn’t accept an award from the hands of a man who has attacked the rights and history of women, people of color and LGBTQ. The gay community in particular, helped turn her signature song into an anthem.”
Chump can't fool the American people anymore. Half of us never trusted him and those who made the mistake of trusting him have now caught on.
By the way, be sure to check out the joint-humor post that went up earlier tonight.
This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for Thursday:
Washington,
D.C. (August 13, 2025)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House
Judiciary Committee, led Committee Democrats in sending a letter
to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director
William K. Marshall III pressing for answers regarding the unusual and
abrupt transfer of Ghislaine Maxwell from a more restrictive BOP
facility to a minimum security facility in Texas, amid concerns that the
Trump Administration may be attempting to coax favorable testimony or
strategic silence from Maxwell—Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice and
co-conspirator—in order to cover up the full extent of the relationship
between Trump and Epstein.
“These actions
raise substantial concerns that the Administration may now be attempting
to tamper with a crucial witness, conceal President Trump’s
relationship with convicted sex offenders, and coax Ms. Maxwell into
providing false or misleading testimony in order to protect the
President. The transfer also appears to violate both DOJ and Bureau of
Prisons (BOP) policies. We write to demand DOJ and BOP provide all
documents and information related to Deputy Attorney General Blanche’s
interview of Ms. Maxwell and the sudden decision to transfer her to a
facility with lower security and greater freedom for inmates, which was,
prior to this extraordinary transfer, categorically off-limits to sex
offenders,” wrote the Members.
Reports on August 1 revealed that Maxwell, who had been serving a 20-year
prison sentence in Florida for exploiting and sexually abusing underage
girls, was transferred to an all-women prison camp in Texas, which is
listed as one of the “Best Jails in America to Serve Time.”
The unexplained transfer of Maxwell to a lower-security and more comfortable facility came amid the Trump Administration’s refusal to release the Epstein files and less than a week after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer, met with Maxwell and her attorney behind closed doors with no line prosecutors present. DOJ’s decision to arrange multiple private meetings with Maxwell raises concerns of conflicts of interest, witness tampering, and suborning of false testimony.
The transfer also appears to
violate BOP policy, which mandates that a person of convicted of sex
trafficking, like Maxwell, universally warrant a Public Safety Factor
(PSF) designation as a “Sex Offender” and are ineligible to serve their
sentence at a minimum-security facility like the one in Texas that
allows “access to the community.”
Judiciary
Democrats demanded the DOJ and BOP provide information, documents, and
communications regarding Maxwell’s transfer and her interview with
Deputy Attorney General Blanche.
“It is imperative that the Administration come clean regarding the full scope of Mr. Blanche’s interview of Ms. Maxwell and the sudden decision to transfer her to a minimum-security prison camp. The Committee must have access to all documents and information regarding these actions to assess whether DOJ officials and the President have abused prosecutorial and law enforcement resources to shield the President and mislead the public,” concluded the Members.
Click here to read the letter.
WASHINGTON – Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) condemned the recent transfer of convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell from FCI Tallahassee, a low security federal prison, to FPC Bryan, a minimum-security prison camp in Texas.
The transfer occurred shortly after Maxwell met privately with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche – Trump’s former personal lawyer – to discuss individuals associated with Jeffrey Epstein. The Senators note that the Department of Justice has yet to provide any clear explanation for the decision, raising serious concerns about whether Maxwell is receiving preferential treatment.
“Given the serious nature of Ms. Maxwell’s crimes, which include a conviction and 20-year sentence for the sex trafficking of minors, this transfer raises deeply troubling questions,” the Senators wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. “The lack of transparency surrounding the decision, particularly following her closed-door meeting with the Deputy Attorney General, undermines public confidence in the Department’s impartiality and raises concerns about whether she is receiving preferential treatment.”
The letter cites Bureau of Prisons policy requiring that anyone who, like Maxwell, had “sexual contact with a minor,” be housed in at least a low security-level institution without exception unless granted a waiver, which there has been no indication Maxwell obtained. The Senators also note that victims were not notified of her transfer, in apparent violation of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.
“Moreover, at a time when the Department has pledged greater transparency regarding Epstein-related matters, this unexplained transfer sends the opposite message,” the Senators continued. “To date, there has been no clear explanation for why the transfer was made, suggesting the administration has simply been paying lip service to repeated calls for transparency.”
The Senators are calling on the Department to produce all documents and communications related to the transfer, any records of Maxwell’s communications with DOJ officials in the 30 days preceding the move, and documentation of victim notification efforts.
Read the full letter HERE.
When U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was the chief legal officer for Florida, could she have prosecuted fellow resident Jeffrey Epstein for child sex crimes?
Legally, yes, she could have, legal experts say. The bigger question, however, is whether she should have felt compelled to do so.
U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who represents a St. Petersburg district, said the fact that former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta is not among those presently on the panel's witness list does not rule him out.
"This does not take Alex Acosta off the table," said Luna, one of three Floridians on the high-profile congressional committee, in a statement emailed to The Palm Beach Post. "At any time, he can be called to testify."
In August 2025, a claim circulated online that a federal prison in Texas cleared Jeffrey Epstein associate and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell to leave the facility on work release. The claim came from a Substack blog post by Allison Gill, the owner of an independent podcast network and a former government employee.
Gill's blog post included screenshots of what she claimed was Maxwell's Bureau of Prisons (BOP) record that showed a "custody level" that implied Maxwell was allowed to leave prison to work. Snopes could not independently verify Gill's screenshots because the blog post used an anonymous source. A BOP spokesperson said the agency could not vouch for the screenshots' authenticity..
However, according to BOP guidelines, minimum security prisons like FPC Bryan, to which Maxwell transferred on Aug. 1, 2025, can only house inmates with custody levels that allow them to leave the facility's secure perimeter for work. Therefore, according to the BOP's own guidelines, Maxwell would have such a custody level.
Two-time Paralympic gold medalist and Iowa State Representative Josh Turek used current Iowa Senator Joni Ernst’s infamous “Well, we’re all going to die” comment against her in a new ad announcing his candidacy for her Senate seat.
Turek uses a wheelchair full-time after his father’s exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War caused him to develop spina bifida, forcing him to get 21 surgeries before the age of 12. He received gold medals in wheelchair basketball in 2016 and 2020.
“I wouldn’t have gotten that far without VA health coverage for my dad’s service, free summer lunch programs when my parents were struggling, and the local AEA that made sure that I had access to a good education. When I was a kid, it was a Senator from Iowa that made sure that the doors were open for kids like me,” Turek said. “Now the senator from Iowa is just closing doors, taking away health care, making it harder for parents to feed their kids—all just to give tax breaks to billionaires. And her explanation? ‘Well, we are all going to die.’”
The clip cuts to footage of the town hall in which Ernst made her cruel, fateful comments.
“I’m tired of Iowans being taken for granted. I wasn’t supposed to be able to win a state House seat that Trump won twice, but I campaigned just like I played basketball: outworking everyone,” Turek continued. “A whole lotta folks are gonna look at a guy like me and say, ‘Man, that is a real long shot.’ Well, in Iowa, we love an underdog. So if you are ready to push for change, join me.”
Ernst’s comments have seriously tainted her political reputation, and while she’s yet to confirm or deny her 2026 reelection campaign, a slew of challengers have already arisen from both sides of the aisle (for what it’s worth, Ernst has hired a campaign manager). Republican Jim Carlin and former Libertarian presidential candidate Joshua Smith have already declared, while Ernst and Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson are still deliberating. Meanwhile Turek joins a crowded Democratic primary field including state Senator Zach Wahls, state Representative J.D. Scholten, Des Moines school board chair Jackie Norris, and local radio station market director Nathan Sage.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced four bills that would institute a moratorium on reductions in force (RIF) at federal science agencies under the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s jurisdiction, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
This comes after President Trump’s mass layoffs of over 3,000 employees at federal science agencies, including over 2,000 employees at NASA last month, over 150 employees at NSF in February, around 800 employees at NOAA, and over 70 employees at NIST.
“Our federal science agencies do critical work to keep our communities safe, while also promoting and fostering innovation, conducting important research, and encouraging exploration in various fields,” said Senator Hirono. “These reductions in our federal workforce will cause irreparable damage to this country and this regime’s blatant disregard for these agencies, as well as the well-being of the federal workers employed by them, is unacceptable. I am proud to introduce these bills to help protect our federal workforce and the crucial work that these agencies do.”
“The Trump Administration’s purge of federal employees from our science agencies is not only hurting thousands of hard-working public servants, it is threatening key engines of innovation that benefit the American people and our economy. With this legislation, we’re fighting to stop Trump from laying waste to our federal science agencies and their workforce as Congress works to fund their missions for the next year – and ensure they can continue making life-changing discoveries,” said Senator Van Hollen.
Trump has claimed that these mass layoffs are part of his administration’s agenda to cut “government waste.” Meanwhile, he has taken advantage of these cuts to give his political appointees preferred treatment. In June, the administration made an abrupt decision to move the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) into the NSF’s office building in Alexandria, Virginia, without giving NSF’s 1,833 employees advanced notice or presenting a plan for where these employees would relocate to accommodate HUD workers.
Specifically, Senator Hirono and Van Hollen’s bills would prevent RIFs at these four agencies, essentially pausing mass layoffs or demotions, until Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations for those agencies are signed into law.
The full text of the legislation for the Saving NIST’s Workforce Act is available here.
The full text of the legislation for the Saving NASA’s Workforce Act is available here.
The full text of the legislation for the Saving NOAA’s Workforce Act is available here.
The full text of the legislation for the Saving NSF’s Workforce Act is available here.
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